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King dans la jungle (Aredit comic)/plot
The story begins differently since it has to start from where King et le plan du trésor left off. Like in that earlier story, Trapper is present and Cub is not. Otherwise the rest of the adaptation is fairly faithful to the original. Some seemingly minor incidents in the original are even embellished and expanded. The section headings do not occur in the comic. They are inserted to make comparison with the original easier. The chapter numbers refer to the chapters in the original book. Departing for Thailand (not in the original) Gimlet, Copper and Trapper are on holiday in a cottage near Edinburgh when Copper reads that Tuanik, Smith and Gray have escaped from police custody. Gimlet also gets a letter from Tony Lander saying that the trio had burglarised his apartment in London. They stole a large sum of money and also the treasure map to Kashan's treasure in Siam. Gimlet, Copper and Trapper head for London. Gimlet is concerned that they can't catch up with the bandits without the map but Tony says he has memorised the details. The details of the yacht Sally in Chichester and how Lord Rinborne had offered it to Gimlet is as per the orginal. Gimlet buys a jeep from army surplus to take along. In the original he already has a jeep. Bangkok and the Little Lotus Flower (Chapter 8 - Chapter 9) Arriving in Bangkok, Gimlet and co. are spotted by Tuanik, Smith and Gray. The bandits already know all four of them are together (unlike in the original where Tuanik only knows of Tony and Cub). Nonetheless Gimlet sends Tony and Trapper ahead to the Little Lotus Flower tea-house while he and Copper attend to customs formalities. Just like in the original, two policemen come to arrest Trapper and Tony. They are struck on the head and bundled off in a van. The van almost runs into Gimlet and Copper's car on the way to Bangkok. Trapper and Tony are taken to an opium den when Tuanik confronts them. Here, Tuanik has a different plan than that in the original where he wanted to torture them for the map--in this case he already has it. His plan, instead, is to keep them hidden. Gimlet and Copper, as commandos, consider their friends more important than the treasure. They will search for Trapper and Tony and while thus delayed, Tuanik will be able to search for the treasure undisturbed. Rescue of Trapper and Tony (Chapter 10) Gimlet and Copper get to the Little Lotus Inn and Mr Loo, the proprietor tells them what happened. They race after the police van. They do meet an elephant but this doesn't force them off the road, it merely slows them down for a while. The rescue takes place much as described in the original. Gimlet lights the way with his lighter, a knife is thrown at him. There isn't a charcoal brazier which Copper knocks over. After the rescue, the four of them find their exit blocked so they jump out of the window onto the deck of a boat. The scene at the car rental garage is told in greater detail than the 1-2 sentences in the original. Here Gimlet actually tells the owner that the car has been left in the Chinese Quarter, at Chang-Yang Road (these details are not in the original). The owner assures he will go fetch it. Gimlet then rents a taxi from him to take them to the Little Lotus Flower. Northwards (Chapter 11) Unlike the original, they do not continue to Tankoy through the night. Here Gimlet opts to stay the night and rest at the Little Lotus Flower. He even has time to relax and smoke a pipe. They depart for Tankoy the next morning, only in this adaptation the village is not called Tankoy but Tcheng-Ho. They do meet the python but not the horde of elephants. Kashan's house is in better condition than in the original. They do encounter Kling in the interior. The Temple and the Tomb (Chapter 12-13) It rains, so just like in the original, Gimlet decides to press on. Passing the village, they do spot a car and a figure at the door of the headman's house. The stampede of buffaloes takes place on schedule. Gimlet scouts the path ahead, finds a track and summons the rest. The passage to the temple, and crossing the circular lake to the tomb takes place much as in the original. They discover that they are marooned by the crocodile. Tuanik, Smith and Gray turn up, Smith is killed by the crocodile and the remaining gangsters go off, intending to set an ambush by Gimlet's jeep. The only difference here is that Tuanik knows this is the right place as he is holding the map. In the original he just wanted to take a look at the tomb. The End of the Adventure (Chapter 14) Gimlet and co. find a chest of treasure and carry it out of the tomb. They go back to the village with the chest slung under a bamboo pole and they camouflage the chest with orchids just as in the original. The encounter with the villager who is stalking a tiger takes place as described. Gimlet buys the buffalo off him for fifty dollars and they strap the chest to the animal. The tiger shows up and stampedes the buffalo and the chest is smashed and the contents strewn on the ground. They have to pick up the jewels and precious objects. The only difference here is that Gimlet doesn't have a sack. They have to buy a sack from the villager for another fifty dollars! They do not witness the fight between Kling and Tuanik and Gray. Nearing Kashan's house, Gimlet scouts ahead and finds three dead bodies. Tony recognises Kling and surmises what must have happened. On departure, there is an added discussion about what to do with Tuanik's car. Gimlet says to leave it behind as a gift for the villagers. The stop by the Little Lotus Flower for refreshment is not depicted. They get back to the Sally. The jeep is winched on board and not left behind. At the end of the story, Copper does receive in the mail a souvenir of a mongoose killing a cobra, but strangely, the others do not get to pick a memento for themselves. Category:Plot summaries (derivative works)